Here is some information and advice following the sequence of a typical wedding day:

Wedding Preparations Service Photoshoot Reception Speeches Evening & First Dance
NEW: Wedding Video Clips

Wedding Preparations

One of the fun parts of the day that we can film, are the preparations at the bride's house. The video will try to capture the mood of the bridal party, plus all the mayhem going on around. Hair and makeup being done, the flowers arriving and being admired, the giving of fatherly advice and the popping of champagne corks whilst downing the odd glass to soothe the nerves. Then there are the final stages of the Bride and Bridesmaids getting ready and the first appearance of the bride in her fairytale dress.

One of the most common items that starts to cause chaos at this stage is the attachment of the button hole. The gentleman wears it on his left, the correct way up, while the lady wears hers on her right, upside down.

We would ideally plan to arrive at the house at least two hours before the Wedding Service starts and to stay for approximately one hour, thereby giving us plenty of time to get to the venue and set up ready to film guests arriving. Whereas we pride ourselves on being totally unobtrusive in the remainder of our wedding coverage, this is not always possible within the confines of a house.

If coverage is required of the bride leaving the house in the car or carriage, this would normally have to be staged early, again to allow us time to get to the venue to film the guests and bride's arrival.  back to top

Service

We usually try to arrive at the venue at least one hour before the ceremony. The amount of footage shot can be affected by the weather - ie if it is raining heavily guests will dash quickly into the venue and shooting opportunities will be restricted, whereas, in good weather the opposite will be true.

We will normally set up our unattended camera and our microphones at the church or venue and will also white balance our other cameras to ensure we get the best pictures. We will need to attach the radio mic to the groom and start to get shots of the venue, the groom and best man checking the rings, the guests starting to arrive etc.

When guests are arriving at the church or registry service on the big day, if young children are present its a good idea to try to sit them at the back of the service, so if they become unsettled they can be taken discreetly outside. This also stops any crying being recorded on the video and making the vows fade into the distance.

Make best use of your bridesmaids to tend to those little things such as holding the wedding train as you get out of the car and go to the venue. Don't forget, tradition has it that the veil has to be down when you go into the church. Make the walk down the aisle last as long as possible, as this is it!

During a church service the person who is giving away the bride has to hand over the bride's right hand, with his right hand to the vicar. The vicar will then ask for the groom's right hand and place the bride's right hand in to his hand. Don't forget, your are there to enjoy yourself, its your day, relax and smile!

We do not move around during the ceremony, as this would cause us to distract attention from the couple and detract from the solemnity of the occasion. Coverage of the service varies considerably depending on camera positions available and also your own wishes. We would normally hope to be allowed to place one camera where we can get a good frontal view of your faces and the second camera where we can get a reasonable alternative view, as well as being able to film the departure 'down the aisle'. Our standard practice is to film the ceremony up until the point at which the couple are declared man and wife after which we cut to the staged signing of the register (it is illegal to directly film the actual signing). This usually includes all readings by relatives or friends and at least one hymn (for church services) which will normally be edited down to first and last verse. By cutting out the latter part of the service we are able to be a little more creative in the editing of the parts which we retain but we are quite happy to film the entire ceremony if you wish and if this is possible from the allocated camera positions.

When it is time to go back down the aisle, the photographer will normally stop to take a photo of you both at the church door and we normally like to get a clear shot of you both coming out of the church or venue immediately after this (without the photographer in the shot). Both of these events can hold all the guests up from leaving, so you might want to decide (in consultation with your vicar) if you will come out first or whether your guests will come out first. In this case you would need to move to one side after coming down the aisle and let your guests out and then let your photographer take the shots he needs, or see if there is an alternative exit for the guests.

Points to Note: Filming is not allowed in some churches and a charge may be made by others. You must check well in advance with the vicar who may require you and us to sign a contract. If it is a registry office or civil service then there is usually no problem in filming other than space restrictions in some registry offices, but again you need to ask. Similarly you must check with any musicians or performers that they are happy to be recorded and pay any fees requested. We normally like to attend any rehearsal for the ceremony, or to arrange a meeting with the couple and the wedding co-ordinator for the venue during the week prior to the ceremony. This is to confirm the order of events, positioning of participants and allows us to check on camera positions, light levels, interference from air conditioning etc. back to top

Photoshoot

After the formalities of the ceremony, it's then out to do the photo shoot. This is the time to relax and chat amongst your guests, while at the same time trying to smile continuously for the photographer. This can take up to an hour (or more!) so make sure there is a nice cold bottle of champagne waiting for you in the car when it takes you to the reception. To ensure that the photo session goes smoothly enlist the use of the Ushers and Best Man to jolly the guests along.

We will use this time to capture informal shots of the guests, some who may have come from far and wide. These shots will try to capture the mood of the day and will be set to music to break the video up after the service. Our normal practice during this time and the confetti throwing would be to shoot elements of the group shots being taken, but to concentrate more on the informal interaction between guests and those candid moments that often go unnoticed by the Bride and Groom and other family members.

Nobody would want their day ruined by the weather and a little thought beforehand to where the photos could be taken should it rain, will prevent this. Rest assured though, if you've hired a good photographer he or she will usually have a plan B already prepared. back to top

Reception

During the reception you may want to enlist the services of a toastmaster, unless your venue provides an MC, as he will organise all the following formalities. This is money well spent and saves the confusion that can happen.

At this stage we would shoot more informal footage intercut with the photographer at work, leading on to the formal greeting of the guests (the Receiving Line) if required. Filming of the receiving line can be a useful way of ensuring that we have footage of most guests attending, however, it can take some time, and we would normally cut this down to a selection which included guests not covered elsewhere.

During the line up the bride's parents are first to greet the guests followed by the groom's parents. The next to follow are the happy couple, and if required, the bridesmaids and the best man. This line up is not written in stone so any way you prefer is acceptable. We normally like to set the camera up next to the bride looking down the line, so that we film the greetings between bride, groom and guest.

As your guests look at the table plan desperately trying to find what table their name is on, they could be holding up the other guests. A tip here is to put the table plan at a location prior to the receiving line, so the guests can study it while they are waiting, and for the table plan to have an alphabetical list, as your guests will know their names but not what table they are on. It's probably wise to have a couple of ushers here to help your guests along.

When you have greeted all the guests, the rest of the bridal party go in to the reception. The Toastmaster, the venue MC or the Best Man can announce the Bride & Groom in to the reception while clapping. The tip here is to plan your route to the top table so you do not have to wrestle with chairs to get through.

We have found that the practice of asking all guests to stand and greet the couple, normally results in most guests (particularly children), and ourselves, not being able to see and film your grand entrance. We would therefore suggest that the MC be asked to change his announcement to something along the lines of 'Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain seated and greet your Bride and Groom in the usual manner'. It is probably a good idea for him to pre-warn the guests of this before making the formal announcement. We can have a similar problem in getting clear shots of the couple cutting the cake etc, where guests often stand in front of the cameras and it is useful if guests could be made aware that you are being filmed on the day and asked to bear us in mind when taking photos or video.

When you have reached the top table, you can stand while grace is said or sit down and commence with the meal. Some couples ask their guests to refrain from smoking during the meal or for the whole reception. The bride sits next to her father and the best man sits at the far end of the table, whilst the two mothers normally swop partners to sit next to the other father in each case.

We do not usually film during the meal itself. We will normally remove the cameras and take our break whilst the meal is being served and will therefore need a 15 minute warning (when sweet course, or 'comfort break' begins is usually a good time), to allow us to set up again. It is important that we are informed if the speeches are to take place before the meal. back to top

Speeches

Our standard practice is to place radio microphones on the top table to capture the speeches and to include the Bride's Father's, Groom's and Best Man's speeches in their entirety, so if they go on for 40 minutes, that is 40 minutes of your video taken up! It is very important that you let us know if there are additional speakers, and where they will be speaking from. We cannot guarantee to capture the same level of sound from speakers not at the top table, but will do our best.

This is the bit that many grooms and best men find the most nerve racking. Don't worry, you will do just fine, no one at the wedding is there to ridicule you, they are there to listen to you. This is your big day make the most of it, give them something to remember when they re-live the day. If you need some help there are various websites you can look at which can help you prepare your speech. Remember a good wedding speech lasts no longer than 5 mins, and if you can't tell jokes, don't try.

The first person to stand up and do his speech is the bride's father, and his toast is to the happy couple. The next to go is the groom and his toast is to the bridesmaids. He may also give flowers to both mums and presents to the bridesmaids, the best man and the ushers. The last to go is the best man and he thanks the groom on behalf of the bridesmaids for their toast. His toast is usually to the happy couple and / or absent friends. During his speech, which normally covers his knowledge of the grooms past misdemeanors, the best man may use a slide show of embarrassing childhood or stag night photos.

The speeches are traditionally either preceded or followed by the cutting of the cake, normally announced by the Toastmaster, MC or best man. This can however be delayed until the start of the evening function, as is becoming increasingly popular. back to top

The Evening & First Dance

You will often have invited additional guests to the evening function and we will make every effort to include as many as possible whether they be chatting at the bar or dancing. Our standard practice would be to shoot a montage of dancing, intercut with other action. If a band is performing it is essential for you to ask their permission for their act to be recorded and to pay any fees they request.

We find that many couples nowadays like to save the cake cutting until the evening. This gives a nice piece of ceremony to start off the evening, and to involve the additional guests. It also acts as a useful way of getting all the guests together prior to your first dance, which can be done immediately after cutting the cake. Traditionally no one should be dancing until you have had your first dance, and normally the two sets of parents should swop partners and join you, together with the bridesmaids, best man and ushers, for the second dance. Some shy couples like this to happen halfway through their first dance. The DJ or MC should then encourage all the guests to come and join you on the dance floor for the third dance etc.

With the possible exception of the first dance, for which we need reasonably high light levels in order to guarantee good sharp images, we will not usually use additional lighting for the dance & disco. This allows us to capture the atmosphere and remain unobtrusive.

When the time comes for you to leave there are two forms of exit, one where everyone forms a circle and the couple go round in opposite directions and thank the guests. For the other, the guest's form an arch and the couple go through. If you still have your bouquet, this is the time to throw it over your head to the single ladies. back to top